The Arabian extragavanza is expected to be completed in March next year.

“The Arab City will become a showcase of Arab culture for locals while offering Middle Eastern tourists a taste of home when visiting the country,” project developer Golden Corporate Heritages president Saleh Al Mansour said.

He added there was also intention to blend Arab and Malaysian culture as it was done here 600 years ago during the Malacca Sultanate Empire.

Saleh said many Arab tourists coming here wanted to see more of the country and not merely shop in Kuala Lumpur.

“When Arab tourists are in Kuala Lumpur, they get a big let down when they visit the Arab Street.

“It does not reflect our culture and they feel insulted at the representation. That is why we decided to develop the Arab City project here to promote authentic Arab culture,” he told reporters when met at the project site here on Sunday. Construction work was set to start next month with the recruitment for workers beginning in August.

Some 800 to 850 workers, representing 75% of our workforce, will be locals. The remaining will be Arab and Middle Eastern professionals brought in from 20 countries to train and supervise the workers,” he said.

Covering 1.8ha of seafront land, the Arab City represents the first of three projects worth RM1.2bil to be undertaken by Arab investors in Malacca over the next several years.

The other Golden Corporate Heritages projects in the pipeline here are a five-star hotel; exclusive chalets and private medical centre on 13.75ha of seafront land in Klebang and the Arab traders bazaar in Kampung Jawa.